Bengaluru photographer re-creates old memories

If there is something that the old Bengalurean misses, it is its old identity of Pensioners’ Paradise, rather than the fast-paced Silicon City tag of today. It was a city that exuded warmth, saw large families living together. Everyone knew each other and this sense of bonhomie extended to the local flower sellers and tuck shop owners too. While this might not exactly be the case today, with everyone living lives on the fast lane, depending on an impersonal smartphone and its many apps as their lifeline, Arjun Kamath, a city photographer, has re-created vignettes of old Bangalore as part of a photo project. Why? Because he missed the old city and knew many would too. Talking about the project, Arjun says, “I graduated from USC’s School of Cinematic Arts, Los Angeles, this May. And when I was still in school, I would return to Bengaluru every six months and it always felt wonderful to be back home. But then sadly, I would have to head back to LA already time to continue with school. And each time I said goodbye, I would be heartbroken. And I understood, why I felt so emotional; and that’s because not only did I just miss my family... it was also the city, it’s culture and warmth. The city I spent 25 years of my life in. And then I started to wonder what is it about the city that I miss? The pubs, the parties? Maybe not so much. I never partied as a child. But it was the little things. The people in my neighborhood, the little things they did... Making rangolis, the old ajjas (grandfathers) and ajjis (grandmothers) waving goodbye each time I would leave for school in the school auto rickshaw. So I wanted to relive my childhood through the series. This is more of a tribute to a city which is fast changing and slowly losing its identity in someway; although it’s about change and evolving and embracing what the future holds, it’s also important to respect and protect your roots — because a tree is known by the strength of its roots. This is why the images reflect an old Bengaluru charm, or rather that’s what I was going for.”Finding locations that reflected this old spirit wasn’t an easy task. “I location scouted for a week. Some of the images are in Chamrajpet, some of them are on Narayana Pillai Street, off Commercial Street. I’m from Bengaluru so I had a vague idea where to look. But it still took me a week to identify these locations and specific spots,” he reveals. And each of the images in this series was special to Arjun. “The images reflect a healthy balance of a documentary style of photography combined with a slight staging/blocking of characters. Subtle staging was necessary because I had a story in mind for every image. Since I had scouted the locations for a week, I knew the shots I wanted and we shot amidst plenty of onlookers on the street, which is not an ideal setting. But I wouldn’t be able to create this in a studio. The locations had to be real. However, since I had visited the locations many times before the actual shoot, I knew what frames I wanted and what emotions/story I wanted the image to convey. So overall, I’d say it was very challenging because I had to pay attention to every specific detail in order to infuse that documentary flavour along with protecting the genuine emotions in the images. Else it would easily feel like a print ad. The choreography happened by chance and the story unfolded by itself when I brought together all the right elements in one frame,” he adds.Arjun also says that his model for the shoot, supermodel and Bengaluru girl Archana Akil Kumar, has added a lot to the project. “Since Archana is from Bengaluru, it’s truly on ode to the old charm that the city exudes. And I have to say Archana’s presence added a lot of grace and poise to the mood that the images convey. Archana is the audiences point of view,” adds the photographer.